Our Faith in the Raging Storm

Homily: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Matthew 14:22-33
9 August 2020

Our Faith in the Raging Storm 

In London I lived with an elderly religious (Fr. Andrew) who likes to sit in the park and feed the birds. He would return home with great stories quite useful for homilies. Once he told me about a father and his little boy playing in the park and how impressed he was with the manner by which the father was watching over his little boy play. The father allowed the boy to wander around, roll on the grass (I hope no allergies!), and even attempt, at some point, to climb a tree. The father would approach his son once in a while but only when he had to. The little one appeared confident that his father was watching over him, assured that he would be close by if he needed to call upon him. What Fr. Andrew liked very much was how the father accepted his son for what he is—just a little boy. He allowed him to enjoy being a child who wanders around, experiments on things, makes false moves, and falls from time to time. 

Jesus in today’s gospel is also very much like that father. He takes his disciples as they are, particularly Peter, with all their character flaws and shortcomings and helps them in their time of need. Responding to the invitation of Jesus but challenged more by his own ego, Peter steps out of the boat and dares to walk towards Jesus on the water! Jesus does not dissuade him or give him fair warning but allows him to do his thing (in Filipino, we say, “Hinayaan niyang dumiskarte!”). At first Peter appears to be succeeding but the terrifying storm distracts him and he begins to submerge in the water.

What do you think made Peter sink? Besides his over confidence in himself, he doubted the power of Jesus to calm the storm and keep him skimming the surface of the water. Often times, we can get so carried away by our success and affiliations to power that we begin to think so highly of ourselves, believing we are invincible, and untouchable. We rely so much on our capabilities that we forget to be grateful and subservient to the One who blesses us with all these gifts and opportunities. We become like Peter, thinking ourselves capable of walking on water, and even soaring to the skies! Our security becomes dependent on maintaining the lifestyle we grow accustomed to, even if it must be at the cost of our integrity or at the expense of others. But life always has a way of testing our mettle and humbling us through unexpected troubles and hurts. Sometimes they can be such a devastating threat to the treasures we have amassed, the reputation we have built and the success we have achieved that people literally go crazy, lose faith or sink into depression. 

Another thing we must consider is that Peter sank, not only because he took his eyes off the Lord, but because he forgot that the Lord never took His eyes off of him! Despite the raging storm and the frightening waves, Jesus is undisturbed as He makes His way back to His friends on the boat. He sees them from afar and He walks to them with purpose. The disciples are so afraid and frazzled that they barely recognize Jesus at first. Jesus, on the other hand, sees them clearly and knows exactly who calls out to Him from the distance. The moment Peter steps out of the boat, Jesus is so focused on him that he sees when Peter is sinking, He hears the cry for help, and He comes right over to save him. We too are the same way. Storms in our life can be so strong that they bring us to our knees and we forget that God does not desire our destruction and that He has everything under control. 

You then might ask, why does God allow such storms to happen? Why does he allow us to make all these missteps that could lead to our undoing? The answer lies in the story we talked about in the beginning. GOD is a loving Father who accepts our individualities, peculiarities, strengths, and weaknesses. He gives us the freedom to live as we choose but He also allows us to face difficulty and suffering because through them we learn and we become stronger. We may lose our way and stumble along but through it all He assures us that He is close by if we call upon Him for help. Peter was allowed to have his way in order that Jesus could teach him about faith. He used the occasion to help the apostles gain valuable insights that will make them grow as persons and as his disciples.

In our present situation, we have encountered a combination of storms. We have faced natural calamities from typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and now we have financial recessions, let-downs of government, unemployment, and a health crisis that has led to catastrophic loss of life.  

We are all suffering and reeling from the blows. Many have begun to sink into despair because they either forgot or found it too hard to fix their eyes on Jesus. It is not impossible, though. Looking to the efforts of the faithful in cooperation with the church we see a people who despite their own hardships, have learned to share with those who have less, to pray together, even for people they do not know, and who endeavour to spread some positivity around to uplift both neighbours and strangers.

This time of the pandemic is truly one of the most terrifying storms to ravage the whole world. We have to remember that only people of faith can brave calamitous situations like this with hope and come out of it stronger. May our faith be intensified as we struggle to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus and remember to always call on Him for help. He hears us and consoles us, reminding us constantly to patiently wait for deliverance and to “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid!” (Matthew 14:27)

illustration by Blair Paulus Nuyda, AA